Digital telecommunication switching systems serve the purpose of connecting telecommunication terminal equipment having versatile performance features to one another and of connecting such terminal equipment to communication networks, particularly to public networks.
A publication of Siemens AG (Special Issue of telcom report, and Siemens Magazine COM, "ISDN in the Office", December 1985 Ordering No. A 19100-L523-V849-X-7600, ISBN 3-8009-3849-9) discloses such a switching system to which can be connected analog and digital telephones, telecopiers, multi-functional terminals, workstation systems, personal computers, teletex and picture screen text stations and terminal equipment. The structure of this system is designed such that the connection of traditional apparatus having analog transmission is also possible in addition to digital terminal equipment.
The administration and maintenance software of the known switching system already has program modules that serve the purpose of assuring data consistency. Assuring the database consistency given modification of static data is thereby achieved what are referred to as update program parts and special coordination mechanisms that are comprised in depositing the variable static data in the system composed of function modules (switching unit, peripheral function modules) in parallel in a main memory of the appertaining function module and in backup memories. It is also thereby provided that modified parts of the database are automatically updated at cyclical intervals or are manually updated on the basis of administration and maintenance program modules on a hard disk, whereas the update procedure of standby computers occurs immediately when the active computer is modified (page 101 of the publication). However, assuring the data consistency for a communication system having a plurality of databases is not provided in this publication.
European Patent Application 0 237 841 discloses a method for handling configuration changes in a data processing system and discloses an apparatus for the implementation of this method. The content of a configuration memory and the content of one or more function modules are thereby modified in an invariable sequence of the modification procedures. The function modules each respectively contain a subset of all system configuration data, whereas it is provided for the configuration memory that this contains all system configuration data. As a result of this structure, a relatively large processing outlay can become necessary given data accesses during the course of modification procedures, whereby relatively long processing times can also result.